Thymoma (patient information): Difference between revisions

	Thymoma
Overview
What are the symptoms?
What are the causes?
Who is at highest risk?
Diagnosis
When to seek urgent medical care?
Treatment options
Where to find medical care for Thymoma?
Prevention
What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?
Possible complications
Thymoma On the Web
Ongoing Trials at Clinical Trials.gov
Images of Thymoma
Videos on Thymoma
FDA on Thymoma
CDC on Thymoma
Thymoma in the news
Blogs on Thymoma
Directions to Hospitals Treating Thymoma
Risk calculators and risk factors for Thymoma

	Thymoma (patient information);
ICD-10	C37.9, D60
ICD-9	164.0, 212.6
ICD-O:	8580
DiseasesDB	13067
MeSH	D013945

← Older edit

VisualWikitext

Latest revision as of 19:38, 20 November 2018

For the WikiDoc page for this topic, click here.

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor-In-Chief: Jinhui Wu, M.D.

Overview

The thymus lies in the upper chest under the breastbone and it is part of the lymph system.
There are different types of tumors of the thymus: thymoma and thymic carcinomas. Thymoma usually is benign, and frequently encapsulated.
Thymoma does not have any early symptoms. With the development of the tumor, frequent symptoms include trouble breathing, cough or chest pain, etc.
Treatments include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or hormone therapy.

What are the symptoms of Thymoma?

Early thymoma does not have any symptoms. As the tumor grows larger, people may notice one or more of the following symptoms:

Chest pain
Cough that does not go away
Trouble breathing
Hemoptysis
Hoarseness

Other health problems may also cause these symptoms. Only a doctor can tell for sure. A person with any of these symptoms should tell the doctor so that the problems can be diagnosed and treated as early as possible.

Who is at highest risk?

Not much is known about why thymoma develop in some people but not in others.

Diagnosis

In order to diagnose thymoma, your doctor may suggest the following tests:

Chest x-ray: An x-ray test is a basic test for thymoma. It may go through the chest and make a picture of areas inside the body.

Computed tomography (CT) scan and biopsy: CT scans are often used to diagnose thymoma. It can confirm the location of the tumor and show the organs in the mediastinum, as well as lymph nodes. These are helpful for determining whether surgery is a good treatment option. CT scans can also be used to guide biopsy and a biopsy sample is usually removed and looked at under a microscope.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): An MRI uses magnetic fields but it is a different type of image than what is produced by computed tomography (CT) and produces detailed images of the body. Like computed tomography (CT), a contrast agent may be injected into a patient’s vein to create a better picture.

When to seek urgent medical care?

Call your health care provider if symptoms of thymoma develop. If you experience either of the following symptoms, seeking urgent medical care as soon as possible:

Severe shortness of breath
A large amount of hemoptysis

Treatment options

Patients with thymoma have many treatment options. The selection depends on the stage of the tumor. The options are surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone treatment, or a combination of these methods.

Before treatment starts, ask your health care team about possible side effects and how treatment may change your normal activities. Because cancer treatments often damage healthy cells and tissues, side effects are common. Side effect may not be the same for each person, and they may change from one treatment session to the next.

Surgery: Surgery is the most common treatment for thymoma. After surgery, other types of treatment can be done in order to increase the chances of a cure.

Radiation therapy: This therapy does not usually work well for kidney cancer. In some cases, hormone treatments may reduce the growth of the tumor.

Chemotherapy: The treatment is to use drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing.

Hormone therapy: This kind of treatment is to remove hormones or block their action and stop cancer cells from growing. Drugs usual used in thymoma is called corticosteroids.

Diseases with similar symptoms

Lung cancer
Lymphoma
Dysembryoma

Where to find medical care for thymoma?

Directions to Hospitals Treating thymoma

Prevention of Thymoma

For the causes of thymoma are not clear, it is not yet possible to know how to prevent them.

What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?

The prognosis of thymoma depends on the following:

The location of the tumor
The stage of the tumor
Whether the tumor can be removed completely by surgery
The patient's general health
Whether the cancer has just been diagnosed or has recurred

Source

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/thymoma/patient

Template:WH Template:WS

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''For the WikiDoc page for this topic, click [[Thymoma|here]]'''
+__NOTOC__
 {{Infobox_Disease
   | Name           = {{PAGENAME}}
- | Image          = Thymoma gross.jpg
- | Caption        = Thymoma: A bottle-shaped tumor is encapsulated and shows a bulging, rather homogeneous, faintly lobulated ivory-colored cut surface. <br> <small> [http://www.peir.net Image courtesy of Professor Peter Anderson DVM PhD and published with permission © PEIR, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Pathology] </small>
   | DiseasesDB     = 13067
   | ICD10          = C37.9, D60
@@ Line 10: / Line 7: @@
   | ICDO           = 8580
   | OMIM           =
- | MedlinePlus    = 001086
- | eMedicineSubj  = med
- | eMedicineTopic = 2752
- | eMedicine_mult = {{eMedicine2|med|3448}} {{eMedicine2|ped|2246}}
   | MeshID         = D013945
 }}
-{{SI}}
+{{Thymoma (patient information)}}
-'''Editor-in-Chief:''' Jinhui Wu
+'''For the WikiDoc page for this topic, click [[Thymoma|here]].'''
-{{EJ}}
+{{CMG}}; '''Associate Editor-In-Chief:''' Jinhui Wu, M.D.
-==What is thymoma?==
+==Overview==
-The thymus lies in the upper chest under the breastbone and it is part of the lymph system. There are different types of tumors of the thymus: thymoma and thymic carcinomas. Thymoma usually is benign, and frequently encapsulated. Thymoma doesn't have any early symptoms. With the development of the tumor, frequent symptoms include trouble breathing, cough or chest pain. Treatments include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or hormone therapy.
+* The thymus lies in the upper chest under the breastbone and it is part of the lymph system.
+* There are different types of [[Tumor|tumors]] of the thymus: [[thymoma]] and thymic carcinomas. Thymoma usually is [[benign]], and frequently encapsulated.
+* Thymoma does not have any early symptoms. With the development of the tumor, frequent symptoms include trouble breathing, [[cough]] or [[chest pain]], etc.
+* Treatments include surgery, [[Radiation therapy|radiation]], [[chemotherapy]] or [[hormone therapy]].
-==How do I know if I have thymoma and what are the symptoms of thymoma?==
+==What are the symptoms of Thymoma?==
 Early thymoma does not have any symptoms. As the tumor grows larger, people may notice one or more of the following symptoms:
+*[[Chest pain]]
+*[[Cough]] that does not go away
+*Trouble breathing
+*[[Hemoptysis]]
+*[[Hoarseness]]
-:*A cough that doesn't go away
+Other health problems may also cause these symptoms. Only a doctor can tell for sure. A person with any of these symptoms should tell the doctor so that the problems can be diagnosed and treated as early as possible.
-:*Chest pain
-:*Trouble breathing
+==Who is at highest risk?==
+Not much is known about why thymoma develop in some people but not in others.
-Other health problems may also cause these symptoms. Only a doctor can tell for sure. A person with any of these symptoms should tell the doctor so that the problems can be diagnosed and treated as early as possible.
+==Diagnosis==
+In order to diagnose thymoma, your doctor may suggest the following tests:
+*Chest x-ray: An x-ray test is a basic test for thymoma. It may go through the chest and make a picture of areas inside the body.
-==Who is at risk for thymoma?==
+*Computed tomography (CT) scan and [[biopsy]]: CT scans are often used to diagnose thymoma. It can confirm the location of the tumor and show the organs in the [[mediastinum]], as well as lymph nodes. These are helpful for determining whether surgery is a good treatment option. CT scans can also be used to guide biopsy and a biopsy sample is usually removed and looked at under a microscope.
-==How to know you have thymoma?==
+*Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): An MRI uses magnetic fields but it is a different type of image than what is produced by computed tomography (CT) and produces detailed images of the body. Like computed tomography (CT), a contrast agent may be injected into a patient’s vein to create a better picture.
 ==When to seek urgent medical care?==
+Call your health care provider if symptoms of thymoma develop. If you experience either of the following symptoms, seeking urgent medical care as soon as possible:
+*Severe [[shortness of breath]]
+*A large amount of [[hemoptysis]]
 ==Treatment options==
+Patients with thymoma have many treatment options. The selection depends on the stage of the tumor. The options are surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone treatment, or a combination of these methods.
-==Diseases with similar symptoms==
+*Before treatment starts, ask your health care team about possible side effects and how treatment may change your normal activities. Because cancer treatments often damage healthy cells and tissues, side effects are common. [[Side effect]] may not be the same for each person, and they may change from one treatment session to the next.
-==Where to find medical care for thymoma?==
+*Surgery: Surgery is the most common treatment for thymoma. After surgery, other types of treatment can be done in order to increase the chances of a cure.
-[http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&amp;hl=en&amp;geocode=&amp;q={{urlencode:{{#if:{{{1|}}}|{{{1}}}|thymoma}}}}&amp;sll=37.0625,-95.677068&amp;sspn=65.008093,112.148438&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;ll=37.0625,-95.677068&amp;spn=91.690419,149.414063&amp;z=2&amp;source=embed Directions to Hospitals Treating thymoma]
+*[[Radiation therapy]]: This therapy does not usually work well for kidney cancer. In some cases, hormone treatments may reduce the growth of the tumor.
-==Prevention of thymoma==
+*Chemotherapy: The treatment is to use drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing.
-==What to expect (Outook/Prognosis)?==
+*[[Hormone therapy]]: This kind of treatment is to remove hormones or block their action and stop [[cancer cells]] from growing. Drugs usual used in thymoma is called [[Corticosteroid|corticosteroids]].
-The prognosis of thymoma depends on the following:
-:*The location of the tumor
+==Diseases with similar symptoms==
+*[[Lung cancer]]
+*[[Lymphoma]]
+*Dysembryoma
-:*The stage of the tumor
+==Where to find medical care for thymoma?==
-:*Whether the tumor can be removed completely by surgery
+[http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&amp;hl=en&amp;geocode=&amp;q={{urlencode:{{#if:{{{1|}}}|{{{1}}}|thymoma}}}}&amp;sll=37.0625,-95.677068&amp;sspn=65.008093,112.148438&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;ll=37.0625,-95.677068&amp;spn=91.690419,149.414063&amp;z=2&amp;source=embed Directions to Hospitals Treating thymoma]
-:*The patient's general health
+==Prevention of Thymoma==
+For the causes of thymoma are not clear, it is not yet possible to know how to prevent them.
-:*Whether the cancer has just been diagnosed or has recurred
+==What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?==
+The prognosis of thymoma depends on the following:
+*The location of the tumor
+*The stage of the tumor
+*Whether the tumor can be removed completely by surgery
+*The patient's general health
+*Whether the cancer has just been diagnosed or has recurred
-==Copyleft Sources==
+==Source==
-http://www.cancer.org/docroot/cri/content/cri_2_4_1x_what_is_thymus_cancer_42.asp?sitearea=&level=
 http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/thymoma/patient
 {{WH}}
 {{WS}}
-[[Category:Patient Information]]
+[[Category:Patient information]]
+ [[Category:Up-To-Date]]
+[[Category:Oncology]]
+[[Category:Medicine]]
+[[Category:Hematology]]
+[[Category:Immunology]]
+[[Category:Surgery]]

Thymoma (patient information)
ICD-10	C37.9, D60
ICD-9	164.0, 212.6
ICD-O:	8580
DiseasesDB	13067
MeSH	D013945